


30 Years Later

by krisrussel



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-14
Updated: 2013-02-14
Packaged: 2017-11-29 06:10:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/683740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krisrussel/pseuds/krisrussel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Giving a summary would spoil everything. It’s short and so sweet you have to be prepared for a sugar overdose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	30 Years Later

**Author's Note:**

> I thought about this story after hearing ‘Disco 2000’ from ‘Pulp’ on the radio. If you know the song, you can probably guess what this story is more or less about. Big thanks to my beta Theo!  
> Also not one of the best things I've ever written.

He was bored… very bored… His dad was in some meeting and he had dropped him off in some kindergarten in this big military building. He hated that, being cast away like this. It made him feel as if he was only trouble for his dad. Most of the kids in this place were much younger than him, so that really didn’t leave him anyone to talk to.

That was until she entered. He gaped at her. He couldn’t help himself. Her curly brown hair hugged her joyous face and she giggled when her father hugged her goodbye. The older man had sparks in his eyes and it made him feel jealous. His father had lost the sparks in his eyes a long time ago. His father also never hugged him. But his eyes soon traveled back from the older man to the daughter. She was beautiful and even though he was only 7, he knew he was in love.

He needed to talk to her, needed to get to know her, needed to know if it was really love that he was feeling. But he was a shy boy, so he hesitated to approach her. He hoped she was different from the other kids he knew. His insight in math, his unruly hair and his funny ears made him the perfect target for bullies and every kid around him seemed to turn into a bully when he was close.

When he finally found the courage to walk towards her, his doubts and fears quickly vanished when she turned to him and smiled a smile that lit up her entire face.

His heart raced and his hands felt sweaty when he uttered a careful hello.

“Nice to meet you.” She smiled and extended her hand. “I’m Lizzy.”

“I’m J.” He replied, getting more confident by the second and shook her hand. The touch felt warm and comfortable and he wanted to hold on to her forever. But knowing that was impossible for now, he reluctantly let go of her hand.

They stared at each other in silence for a few moments until another smile appeared on her face.

“Let’s talk.” She declared, grabbed his hand again and dragged him to a nearby bench and away from prying ears. He didn’t dare to disagree with her, didn’t want to either.

Sitting down on the bench, they started talking. It surprised him how easy it was to talk to her. To talk about everything going on in their young lives. To talk about everything they could think off: their interests, their schools, their teachers, their parents and their dreams for the future.

The more they talked, the more he felt himself falling for her. They had so much in common and yet shared so many differences. He had never met anyone he could talk to this easily and neither had she.

They both hated it when three hours later her father showed up to take her home.

“Will I ever see you again?” She asked hesitantly after they got up from the bench.

“I hope so.” He answered honestly.

“But we live on opposite sides of the country.” She pouted and he felt his heart break. If she would ask him to throw himself into a pit of hungry lions with that pout, he would do it without a second of doubt.

“We can get back here when we’re all grown up.” He tried to console her.

“When will that be?” She asked.

He shrugged. “In 30 years maybe?”

“What do we do then?”

“We meet in the park outside of this building on this day in exactly 30 years from now.”

“Deal.” She smiled and they shook hands to seal the deal.

She turned to walk to her father, but was stopped when she felt his hand on her shoulder. Turning back to look at her new friend, she looked at him questioningly.

“There’s a better way to seal that deal.” He whispered and before either of them realized what was happening, he kissed her. The kiss was soft, short and chaste, but it told them both what they already started realizing. Because even though he was only 7 and she was only 8, they knew they were soulmates.

“I’ll see you in 30 years.” She whispered before walking away.

“Count on it.” He replied softly.

***

He was being stupid. He knew he was. It was a promise he had made so long ago. Did he really think she would show? No... he wasn’t being stupid, he was being insane: waiting in a park, on a bench, in front of The Pentagon for someone he had met 30 years ago. She probably forgot about him long ago. Why would she remember him anyway? She had been out of his league back then and would still be out of his league right now. She was probably happily married with 2.4 kids by now.

The face of someone he knew shot through his head, but he quickly shook off that thought. He had always sorta hoped it was her, but the world couldn’t be that small, could it? There were a lot of similarities between the girl he met once and the woman he knew, but they couldn’t be the same... could they?

“So you really are J.”

The voice sounded familiar and he couldn’t hide the grin as he turned around.

“Lizzy.” He whispered as he got up from the bench and walked towards her. The world, it appeared, really could be that small.

“I always sort of hoped...” She started, but he interrupted her by placing his finger on her lips.

“I know.” His voice sounded hoarse. “So did I.”

“Why call yourself J?” She asked, trying to break the tension between them.

“To make myself sound tougher than I really was.”

“Never fooled me.” She laughed.

“You’ve always known me better than I thought possible.” He whispered.

“And yet, I didn’t know it was you.” She cast her eyes down, but he gently pushed her chin back up so she would face him.

“Neither did I... but...”

“We never stopped hoping.”

“Exactly.” He smiled that boyish smile she came to love so much.

“How are we going to do this? We still work together; I’m still your superior.”

“Hush.” He said as he placed his finger on her lips again. “Not today. Today we’re just Lizzy and J and they are leaving Dr. Weir and Colonel Sheppard in the Pegasus Galaxy. We’ll see what happens after today when that time comes.”

“On one condition though.” She said as she hooked her arm in his and began walking towards one of the restaurants surrounding the immense building.

“Name it.”

“No J... just John… no need to act though when I’m around.”

He laughed at that. “Alright, but I still get to call you Lizzy. I really like that name on you.”

“As long as you don’t call me that in front of our friends in Atlantis, we have a deal.” She smiled and extended her hand.

He stopped walking and turned to face her. “There’s a better way to seal that deal.” His voice was so soft she barely heard it above her own rapid heartbeat. He had given her her very first kiss after those words 30 years ago.

They leaned closer together and met somewhere in the middle. The kiss was just as soft, short and chaste like all those years ago, but it still held the same truth. They truly were soulmates.

 

The End

**Author's Note:**

> If you don't know 'Disco 2000' by 'Pulp', it really is a sad song. It's about a boy who's madly in love with the neighbors daughter and he agrees with her to meet up again in the year 2000. When they meet again it turns out that he stayed single, waiting for her and that she got married and has a couple of kids running around. So the boy is totally broken hearted.  
> I don't like sad endings like that where J&E are concerned, but the song did inspire me to write something similar.


End file.
